Refunds and Withdrawals

Families will receive a full refund if they withdraw up to one week before the class begins.After that time, but no later than the second class, a 50% refund will be given.  It is important to note that the class has a limited number of slots and once the class begins, it is extremely difficult to then fill that space. (Note: Refunds made more than 30 days from purchase date will be docked a 10% administrative processing fee.)

Class Cancellations

I try my very best to avoid class cancellations. I often teach classes even if the minimum number of enrollees has not been met. However, I do reserve the right to cancel a class if the minimum enrollment is not met. I will do so 48 hours before class begins and issue full refunds. 

In the event of an emergency that requires me to cancel an individual session, I will work with individual learners to find a sufficient make-up strategy. This may include a recorded session or a rescheduled session.

Class Participation

I recognize that students have different comfort levels and experience with participating in online class environments. Students are welcome to participate in the way that works best for them. While I prefer students to appear on camera and participate via microphone in live classes, I am also okay with students who do not want to appear on camera and use only the microphone or chat box. 

Homework 

Students are given a google classroom page weekly. This page includes chapter questions, videos and other activities that serve as enrichment for the chapter. I highly encourage students to complete as many of the activities as possible, prior to our class discussion.

If families choose not to do some or all assignments, learners may stay in the class. I will not be issuing end of the course grades. Families may however reach out to me for feedback on their students’ engagement and the assignments they did complete.

Basically, I welcome families to do what works best for them, but I believe learners will get the best experience if they complete the work assigned.

Student Behavior

It is important to me that all students have a safe and enjoyable classroom experience, so I have some behavioral guidelines to reach that goal. My general behavioral guidelines are as follows (and will also be announced directly to students in an age-appropriate way): 

• -Mute microphones if there is excessive background noise 
• -If we are in a large class, you may have to use the “raise hand” feature before speaking
• -No mean-spirited comments in discussion boards (disagreements should be handled respectfully)
• -Students must wear clothing when on camera 
• -No flooding the chat with off-topic content 
• -No name calling, bullying, or unwanted private messaging 
• -No sharing contact information with other students without parent permission
• -No disruptive behavior that distracts other learners (such as constantly changing background screen, changing screen name to something silly, making faces at the camera, etc.)

Response to Behavioral Concerns

My top priority is that all learners get the best experience they can out of the class. This means that my response to behavioral concerns is to address the individual problem with the least amount of disruption to the student concerned as possible. In general, I try to mitigate a specific behavior rather than remove a student from the classroom or limit their participation. 

Here are some examples of ways that I may address behavioral issues in order from least to most invasive: 

• -Disable particular functions of the online classroom (for example, turn off private chat, manually mute microphones, turn off a video feed)
• -Privately reach out to students to ask them to stop the behavior during class 
• -Reach out to students and their families to brainstorm a solution to a behavioral issue outside of class 
• -Require a parent/guardian to be present during live sessions in the event of repeat behavioral violations 
• -Remove a student from live sessions but allow them to continue in the rest of the course and send recordings 
• -Remove a student from the class